Lifeline
by lunastars
Summary: When Cara comes to LA to visit her big brother Leon she doesn't expect to wake up one morning to the news that he's been found dead in a burnt-out car. Not believing the news Cara is faced with convincing her brother's new family that he's still alive while simultaneously racing against the clock to find him.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_Hello everyone! So I have missed writing OCs and I always loved writing them in Fast & Furious so here is a new one! So far this OC hasn't been paired with anyone, I'm thinking Vince but that's not set in stone so we shall see as the story progresses. She is, however, Leon's sister._

_In this story Dom & Vince are 22, Leon is 21, Jesse is 19, my OC Cara is 18, Letty is 17 and Mia is 16._

_If there is anything else you want to know, don't be afraid to ask :)_

* * *

I walked the few blocks I knew it would take to reach the garage. My car had broken down yet again and I wasn't about to call for help when I knew how close I was. Leon wasn't expecting me so if I walked it meant that I could gather my thoughts and prepare to explain why on Earth I had come across country to see him with no warning. I always called but this time was different. I needed a change of scenery but I wasn't prepared to start completely afresh, so where better to go than to see my big brother?

The walk was over before I knew it. The small garage came into view and I could spot them all working inside. I hadn't properly met any of them. I had only been to visit Leon here in LA two times before now. The first I was coming to see if he had settled in but I had had to rush home again before I could really get to meet them properly. The second time I had just been passing through this part and I wanted to spend what time I could with him seen as I never saw him so we did so alone and I never really crossed paths with them. However this time I would be here long enough to spend some time with him _and_ really get to meet the people he called family.

"Excuse me?" I called as I stepped closer to the garage.

When no one answered I walked the rest of the way and actually stepped inside of the garage. Everyone was hard at work and I just stood there, contemplating on whether I should call for them again or cough or something. In the end the smallest one turned and spotted me. If I had to guess I would say it was Jesse. He nudged who I guessed would be Dom and pointed in my direction.

"Can we help you?" the latter asked.

"Oh," I said reluctantly as I pointed over my shoulder. "I called from outside but I guess no one heard me."

"Cara?"

I craned my neck to try and seek out his voice. When my eyes found him I gave him a soft smile. He was in the process of putting his tools down and making his way over to me. He stopped by Dom who had almost come closer and just stared at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to visit my big brother?" I asked nervously.

"Not when you don't call first." His eyes went down to my hands. I had left my stuff in my car but I knew that he was looking for some kind of suitcase. "You always call first to give me warning. I don't remember getting a phone call."

"That's because I didn't call you," I shrugged. "Look, I wasn't expecting a place to stay when I gave you no warning but I'm still kind of hoping you'll help me out with my car."

"What's wrong with it?"

"I had to leave it a couple of blocks away, it just sort of… _died_ on me," I told them, not really sure if it was fixable or not. "I was wondering if you could give it a look? Give me a real verdict."

"A customer is a customer," Dom decided. "You'll need to go with one of us to pick it up."

"I'll take her," Leon decided as he turned away from me.

"No, I got it," another one of them said as he stepped away from the car he was working on. "I'm Vince, gimme a few minutes and I'll pull the truck out."

"Take your time," I called after him as he headed further into the building.

"You've got some explaining to do," Leon told me as he turned back to look at me. "Like why you're here out of the blue for example."

"We'll talk later," I said reluctantly. "It's nothing bad, I promise."

"Yeah, well, I'll be the judge of that when we talk."

I just smiled a little at them all and headed out of the garage. Vince had reversed the tow-truck out from the side of the building and had it on the street. I jogged over and climbed up into the passenger seat. I got a brief glimpse of Leon as we drove away.

"I always thought you and Leon got on," Vince commented as he took the corner I'd told him to.

"We do, he just knows when something is up."

"He didn't look very happy when he saw you."

"Well, I always call and give him some kind of warning," I explained. "When I don't it usually means my visit was spontaneous or something's happened."

"Which one is it?"

"It's a bit of both," I sighed. "I'm eighteen years old and my life is already starting to fall apart."

"How so?" he questioned, taking the car in the directions I pointed.

"Where I'm staying fell through, I lost my job and my dick head ex finally got the hint so I guess that part is good." It felt good to talk about it to someone I didn't really know but at the same time I felt stupid unloading my life on a stranger.

"Where were you staying?" he asked as we parked up in front of my car.

"I got my own place a few months ago," I explained. "But the landlord couldn't pay _his_ bills so we all lost our homes. I was offered somewhere until they sorted out a new landlord and the problems with the building because it wasn't really our fault but I didn't take it, I decided to come here instead."

"And the job?"

"I was late too many times," I shrugged. "Plus, who wants to work in a fast food joint by choice?"

"I thought that horrible smell of grease was coming from the cars," he commented, a grin in place.

I hit him hard on the shoulder before sliding out of the truck. I could hear him chuckle as I made my way round to my car. I unlocked it and grabbed my purse out of the trunk before locking it up again. After I came back to the front and handed Vince the keys, I stepped back.

As he worked on getting the car up and ready to tow he didn't say a word, but the second it was stable and ready to go he looked at me. I sighed, making my way round to get in, knowing there would be more questions.

"So we've covered the living situation and your job, now what about your ex?"

"Are you always this interested in your customer's personal life?"

"No," he admitted as he pulled away from the curb and drove us back towards the garage. "But they're not usually related to my friend. Leon's like family and you mean a lot to him. Plus, I'm a little bit nosey and I one hundred percent don't give a fuck."

"I can tell," I mused. "Well there's nothing to say about the ex. We broke up a year ago and he's only just getting it through his head that we're really over. I had enough flowers from him that I could start my own garden show."

"Flowers?" Vince scoffed. "Really?"

"Well, how would you try and win me back?"

"I wouldn't need no damn flowers, that's for sure."

"Yeah well, he could have used your advice then because he didn't catch the hint that flowers weren't working," I mumbled.

"Now the last thing," Vince said, glancing sideways at me. "Why are you here now?"

"I wanted a break," I told him. "I wanted to get away for a bit again, the only difference is this time I haven't made any plans to go home."

"Well your conversation with Leon will be fun," Vince chuckled.

"I don't expect a place to stay, I was just hoping we could hang out for a bit."

"He's probably worried about you wanting him to take time off of work," Vince explained as we arrived at the garage. "I'm not about discussing family stuff in front of a somewhat stranger but I'm gonna level with you and tell you that we're struggling a little money wise. We can't afford to slack on the business front so we've all been working extra hard."

"I don't expect anything," I assured. "Just a couple of hours here and there, whatever he can spare. If that's nothing then so be it."

Vince didn't say a word as he backed the truck up into the garage. The others came out to help get the car down and push it back a little so that it was actually inside of the garage. As they were doing that I slid out of the truck and headed inside while Vince put the truck away.

I waited to the side as they got my car secured and lifted the hood up. I watched as Jesse did some checks. Leon and Dom watched him as he worked, waiting for his verdict. I bit my lip. I had had this car since I was sixteen and it wasn't exactly new back then so I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work anymore. It was about time it kicked the bucket, maybe this time I wouldn't make the option to revive it.

"She's a goner, isn't she?"

"Unfortunately," Jesse said as he looked over his shoulder at me. "I mean, we could get her to work but there's no guarantee she'll last."

"I need to walk more anymore," I sighed. "Is there anything you could do with her?"

"We could probably get a few parts out of it," Dom mused as he looked at it himself. "She could save some other cars, _maybe_."

"Then do it, rip her apart and take what you need," I told them. "I've got no use for her if she can't run, how much do I owe you for towing her in anyway?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Dom decided as he closed the car up.

"It's-" Leon started, but he was cut off.

"No, seriously, don't worry about it," Dom interrupted. "Like I said, we can get a couple of parts out of your car so we're not gonna charge you for the tow."

"Are you sure? Because I know that…"

I trailed off as they looked towards Vince. He had re-joined us towards the end of the conversation and just shrugged at them.

"We were talking, I told her that we were all working a little harder because we needed the money," he explained to them. "She told me a little about herself, and brother, you've got nothing to worry about."

I looked to Leon who just nodded his head. "We're closing up in an hour. If you've got any stuff, move it to my car and I'll drive you back to ours."

I caught his car keys just in time as he threw them at me. As I moved towards my car I took my keys from Dom. I opened up the trunk again and pulled my duffle bag out. All of my furniture had come with the apartment and what hadn't I sold. I also sold a lot of my clothes and other items to make some money for my travels. I had enough things packed to last me for a little while.

I locked the car again and as I walked out of the garage I placed my keys on a table. I unlocked Leon's car, threw my bag into the back and slipped into the front. I wound down all four windows a little and put the music to a reasonable volume before I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. It had been too long since I saw my brother, so I don't know what I expected but I knew it was going to be one hell of a visit.


	2. Chapter 2

I opened my eyes as the car door creaked open. Leon slipped into the driver's seat and without a word he started the engine and off we went. We drove for a short while before he shifted in his seat. From his pocket he pulled out an envelope and threw it into my lap.

"What's this?" I questioned as I picked it up.

"Take a look."

Carefully I opened up the envelope and tipped the contents into my other hand. Cash fell out of it. There had to be a few hundred dollars.

I looked at him in disbelief. "What is this for?"

"It's not much," Leon shrugged. "But Jess did a proper diagnosis. Your car in working condition could be worth anything from eight hundred to seventeen hundred but with the state it's in currently you won't get anywhere near that."

I counted the money in my lap. There was just over six hundred dollars. "What's this for then?"

"There's a couple of parts we can use," he explained. "They need a little bit of work so we took that into consideration but the amount we can make off of them is nowhere near the price of a tow. We didn't think it was fair that you got a free tow and we got free parts. If you don't think that amount of money is fair then just say so."

"Leon, it's more than enough," I assured, tucking the money back into the envelope. "I wasn't expecting anything. That car is constantly breaking and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten even this much for it." I gathered my purse and the envelope together. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, business is business."

"Leon," I said softly, twisting in my seat to look at him. "I promise that everything is okay. I'm not in any kind of trouble that you need to dig me out of. I'm doing good, I've just hit a blip in the road and I just want to get away from my life back in New York for a while."

"You're sure nothing is up?"

"I lost my job and my apartment but only one of those is my fault," I said with a grin, hoping he wouldn't fixate. "I've been doing really good on my own though."

"I worry about you, especially since Mom."

"She died and we both dealt with it," I shrugged, facing forward again.

"I know," he nodded. "I still worry. It was okay me being out here because you had her, that's changed."

"It's been two years, I had people helping me out," I reassured. "I told you back then that you belong out here, not back there."

"How is Aunt Patty?" he chuckled, finally seeming to relax.

"She moved to Florida a few months ago when I turned eighteen," I explained with a small smile. "I wanted to have a dab hand at living by myself and she wanted warmer weather."

"I always thought you liked New York," he commented as we parked up outside of the house. "You were so excited when you got to move into the city with Aunt Patty."

"I still do like it, I love it in fact."

"Well, I can talk to Dom," Leon told me. "I'm not guaranteeing it'll be permanent but I can at least give you a couple of nights here."

"I appreciate it, I'll leave my stuff in your car until we know."

We both opened up our doors and climbed out. The other cars were already there and I didn't question how that was even possible when we left before they did. Leon didn't seem too surprised and if I knew my brother, which I did, then it was probably something I should stay away from. Not that I listen to my own advice.

"So I'm guessing you still like to drive fast?"

He looked back at me over his shoulder as we headed up to the house. "What makes you say that?"

"The fact that they're all back here before us," I chuckled, jogging to catch up with him. "I can guess why you like it here so much."

He just grinned as he opened up the front door and stepped inside. I followed in after him, pushing the door shut behind me. As he stepped further into the house I fell into line behind him. He led the way into a living room where the others were sitting, this time with two new additions.

"Maybe it's about time you introduced me to your friends," I whispered to him as I moved to stand beside him.

"Right, guys, this is my little sister Cara." He put his arm around my shoulder and motioned to me before motioning back to them. "Cara, this is the team."

The one who I had guessed was Dom stood up and came over to me. I shook his hand when he offered it to me and confirmed that his name was in fact Dom before looking back at everyone. "You met Vince earlier, the smaller guy is Jesse, the girl who was sat on the floor in front of me is my girlfriend Letty and the other girl is _my_ little sister Mia."

"He has talked about you all before," I assured, addressing all of them. "I just have a one track mind and we rarely get to talk or see each other as it is so-"

"We don't come up often," Dom guessed. "You should visit more, we wouldn't mind."

"About that," Leon spoke up. "This trip was a little spontaneous so I was hoping she could stay here for a couple of nights till she finds somewhere or thinks up a real plan."

Dom looked over his shoulder at the others. Each of them nodded and when Dom looked back at us he was smiling. "Why not stay for the whole trip?"

"I don't know how long I'd be here for," I said, a little unsure. "I wouldn't want to get in the way."

"Well, as long as you pull your weight we don't mind having you here," Dom shrugged. "I mean, if at any point you feel like it's too much or you're over staying your welcome then you can leave if that's what you want."

"I'll make sure it never gets to that point, but are you sure?"

"Leon, go get your sisters things, it's almost time for dinner."

Before taking his arm down from around me, Leon kissed the side of my head. "Go sit down, I'll get your bag."

Reluctantly I headed further into the living room. Dom, Vince and Mia had been on the couch while Jesse and Letty had been sitting on the floor in front of them. An arm chair was left which I moved over to and lowered myself down into.

As I sat down Mia got up and moved into the kitchen. Letty and Jesse soon followed her as Dom came to sit back down again. I was kind of thankful that nobody said anything. If I was going to be crashing here for a few nights then I would need to talk to them, but one thing at a time.


	3. Chapter 3

My first time at the Toretto house had been interesting to say the least. I discovered that the house belonged to Dom and Mia. It had been left to them after their father died in a horrific car crash. Dom was in charge as Mia needed to be at least 18 in order to have any control over it. I discovered that the house had temporarily been signed over to Vince because Dom had spent three years in prison. By my calculations he got out when he was about 21 years old, he was now 22. Sensing the whole thing was still a pretty tough subject I changed topic to find out more about Vince.

The reason Vince had been signed over the house wasn't because he was the only one old enough at the time but because he and Dom had been best friends since third grade. I quickly discovered that although Vince could tease and be slightly annoying, he could also be overly aggressive. Never without a good reason of course which I figured was the case for most of the team. It just seemed that with Vince when he got his teeth sunk into something he wouldn't shake it until he was satisfied that it had been dealt with.

It reminded me of a more extreme version of Leon. If one had to be brawn and had to be brain then Vince would be the former while Leon was the latter. My brother was the last person to have joined the team. Letty had been there since the beginning. She grew up just down the road from the Toretto household and had moved in after her mother and step-father had moved to Mexico so she could finish up her education in the same high school. She and Mia were best friends and surprisingly not that different. Both of them were very strong minded and neither of them liked to take the easy route. It became apparent that both of them had high knowledge on cars but you were more likely to find Letty beneath the hood of the car, although Mia would help out in the garage as often as she could. As well as that the pair of them liked to drive fast (a common factor in the Toretto household), they were both adamant about what their futures would entail and the pair of them were able to drive any of the boys up the wall. The only noticeable difference I saw was that Letty was slightly more outgoing and that she was more tom boyish while Mia was a hell of a lot more girly.

After Letty had joined the family and settled in nobody arrived till closer to Mr Toretto's death. Jesse had arrived first. He had been having trouble at home. Although he didn't mention anything about his mom, I did find out that his dad was in and out of prison all of the time. At the time he met the team his dad had been given a long sentence, a few years this time. Mr Toretto had taken pity on the kid and gave him a small job but after discovering Jesse's immense talent with figuring out what was wrong with a car, designing and paying close attention to detail he gave him a permanent job and a place to live.

Leon had come a few months later. Although he had fitted in pretty instantly the struggle came after Dom was arrested. It created more than one rift within the team but getting through it meant that Leon, and even Jesse, still had a permanent place in the team. All these years I had questioned why I never really saw the team when I came to LA. I always figured that I knew the answers but I guess the real reason was the struggle of keeping their lives together while Dom was in prison.

I discovered a lot about the team over dinner, but I told them very little about myself. I told them my name was Cara and that I was eighteen years old. They knew that my mother had died when I was sixteen and Leon was nineteen. I told them basically all that I had told Vince. Even though I didn't go into too much detail I still felt like I could tell them my story because Leon trusted them and they had also been through a lot in life.

It was after dinner and the clean up that I was finally left alone to gather my thoughts. As they spoke among themselves about where I would stay and so on, I wandered outside into the back yard where I sat down on the steps just outside the door where I stayed for a good hour or two.

"Cara?"

I looked over my shoulder as the door behind me finally creaked open. Dom was stood there, leaning against the half open door. "Oh, hey."

"Mind if I join you?"

I shuffled over a bit on the step. "Of course not."

He stepped out of the house and let the door swing shut behind him. He moved to sit down beside me, leaving a little bit of space to keep it comfortable.

"We were just talking about sleeping arrangements," Dom explained. "Your brother and Jesse share the basement so there'll be no room down there. The house has four bedrooms, one for the rest of us but Letty is going to be moving her stuff into my room so you can have hers."

"No, that's okay, really," I told him. "I'll just take the couch or get a hotel."

"Don't be silly, we've been talking about her moving into my room for ages."

"It's only going to be temporary," I reminded. "But thank you, I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it… I know we don't really know you and you don't really know us but we all care about Leon so helping you is just an obvious thing for us."

"I'm glad my brother has a home here," I told him sincerely. "I never really understood why he liked it out here so much but now I think I understand."

"After your mom died we would have-"

"It doesn't matter," I cut in. I didn't want to know that I could have asked Leon to come home or that I could have maybe come out here until I got sorted. "I was fine. I love New York and I was happy to move into the city with my aunt."

"I know for sure that Leon thought about you all the time, especially after that."

"I know. He was worried about being so far away, if it wasn't for my aunt then I would have had to leave New York."

"You sound like you didn't want to leave," he commented. "How come you did now?"

"I felt like everything was happening all at once." I sighed, resting my arms on my knees for support. "I know I didn't like my job but losing that and my apartment around the same time kind of translates into a low blow from the universe." In the silence that followed I felt myself blush as I looked at him. "Sorry, I know you're all having money issues. I shouldn't complain really."

Dom gave a gentle smile. "At least we have jobs though."

"That envelope of money is in the living room," I told him as I motioned behind me in the general direction of the house. "Please take it back."

"No, if you haven't got a job you're going to need _something_."

"Please, I can give you it back in stages, like I was paying some kind of rent."

Dom gave a little chuckle as he ran a hand over his head. "Tell you what. To give you something to do while you're here… Why don't you help us with the garage? Or even just doing stuff around the house. In exchange we won't charge you any money for living with us for a bit and we'll cut you in on anything we do like days out, shopping, so on. It means, especially at the garage, we get a lot of help without having to worry too much about giving you proper wages."

"But you lose money on me staying with you."

"Unless you need a shit ton of money every single day or you plan to eat me out of house then I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked softly.

"Damn sure," he nodded. "Mia is a great cook. She can make our usual shopping trip stretch to an extra mouth. With you helping at the garage we may get at least a little bit more work done, it could really help."

I gave him a smile. "I'll do what I can to help."

"Good, because I want you to stick around for a bit," he said softly. "He may not always admit it but Leon loves you and I know that he was shocked before but you being here will be great for him."

"I guess it's about time I got to know his family anyway."

I noticed Dom frown on the word 'his' and I had to admit it felt strange. My own brother had a family that really I knew nothing about.

"I'll let the money pile up a little and give you some every now and again," he told me, a confident smile replacing the frown. "If you need any before then or in between then just let me know."

Again, if I knew my brother, and I'm pretty confident that I did, then there were definitely other forms of income for the team. Leon was no saint but usually I didn't have to worry too much. Now, however, I couldn't seem to shake that feeling of dread that washed over me.


	4. Chapter 4

I was in the Toretto household for three nights before I worked up the courage to ask Leon more about their money problems and how else they were scraping by. I went through the morning routine of grabbing the bathroom before any of the guys could, eating breakfast, getting dressed and then heading out to do my jobs for that day. It was after work that I grabbed Leon and asked him if he and I could go grab a burger, my treat.

He didn't question me about it and I was thankful. Sitting across from him at a local diner I found myself struggling to figure out the words I needed. Leon simply ate his burger and sipped at his coke, waiting for me to speak. Like always he knew that I had something to say and like always he was just going to wait for it to come out. The only time he didn't do that was when it was an emergency.

"Le, I know that there has to be some other way that you guys are making money."

"You'd be surprised how well the garage does."

His tone was casual enough to be telling the truth but I didn't believe it. I couldn't. "Look I'm not an idiot, Leon. I've seen that house and those cars you all run. I've worked the books for the garage, remember? You guys barely make enough to keep the house let alone all of those cars."

"Stay out of it, Cara," he warned.

"I have a really bad feeling," I told him. "Please, what are you involved in?"

He sighed, pushing his food away from him. "We race. Street racing."

"Like the illegal kind?"

He smirked a little at that. "That's the one."

I studied him for a bit. He seemed to be telling me the truth and it did make sense but deep down I knew that there could be something else. I could feel that this wasn't the end. For now maybe there wasn't anything else but from the last couple of days I had noticed that the team always had a plan. The feelings I had scared me but losing Leon over an argument scared me even more, so I dropped it and just smiled back.

* * *

After we got back from eating everyone else had already had dinner so I slipped out back to sit on the steps. I came here when being inside felt like too much. I could see and feel why Leon loved being here but I wasn't used to being around so many people all of the time. Sitting outside reminded me that it was okay and to give me at least a few minutes alone.

"I'm thinking a beach wood one with 'Cara's space' written in gold letters." I looked over my shoulder and raised a brow at him, causing him to chuckle. "You haven't been here that long yet you're always sitting out here. I figured we should get you some kind of plaque."

I smiled a little at that as I faced forward again. I shuffled over knowingly as Vince came to sit with me. "Le told me about the races."

"Yeah he said. He also said you didn't seem too happy about."

"My brother has always been involved in driving fast. But back in New York he never did it for money and even if he did it was against one person, not in an official street race."

"He's good," Vince told me in what sounded like a reassuring tone. "He doesn't race that much either. He keeps an eye out for cops most nights."

"How often do you guys do this?" I asked curiously.

"There's usually a race every other weekend."

"Is there one this weekend?"

"Why?" It was his turn to be curious. "You want to come?"

"That's the plan."

He watched me for a few moments before eventually nodding. "I don't mind taking you but you're going to have to convince your brother that it's a good idea."

I looked away from him. "He shouldn't have told me about the races if he didn't want me going to them."

* * *

Convincing Leon to let me go was easier than I thought it would be and by the time Saturday rolled around he was actually making sure I was going and not in that fake way where he's secretly hoping I've changed my mind.

So not too long after dinner everyone got ready and we headed out to the races. At the first meeting point I stayed in the car but at the second one I got out and had a look around. I didn't get too far before the team steered me back to introduce me to some of the regulars and the people whom I assume they trusted the most. I stayed by the cars for the rest of the night and watched the races from there. When the third one came around the team wanted to move. Dom was in this race and they wanted to wait for him at the finish line. They were going to leave the cars because the finish line wasnt that far away seen as the 'track' looped back around but Leon was working on the radios so I opted to stay where I was to watch.

The race was about to start when Leon spoke. "Hey, Cara. Why don't you get a closer look and maybe take a look around?"

I frowned at him as I looked over my shoulder at him but eventually I slipped off of the hood of his car and moved closer to the start line. I could just see between the people as the four cars shot off. From what I could see, Dom was in front. I stepped a little bit further into the crowd and circled round. As I circled back I checked out some of the cars along the way.

When I got back towards the teams' cars I spotted Leon. He was stood a little away from the car. He was close enough that he would hear the radio but not close enough for me to see who he was talking to. As I got closer the person he was talking to seemed to notice me and after a few more words he left. As I stepped closer I could see the team heading our way, Dom had clearly won.

"Who was that?" I asked, motioning after the guy who had left.

Leon stepped closer to the car. "Nobody, just a racer."

"You know I thought it was a little weird when you said I should take a closer look. That was so unlike you. You would never send me off someplace by myself, especially if that place was new to me. It doesn't matter how old I am, you would never do that."

He sighed, clearly a little frustrated. "You're a grown ass woman, Cara. Do I really need to be looking out for you every second of every day?"

"What's going on?" I heard Dom ask from behind me.

"Leon is hiding something," I said. "He was just over here talking to some guy and he's being really secretive about it."

"He was a racer."

"Then why are you being all secretive about it?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not."

"Liar," I hissed.

"I'm sorry, Cara," Dom said softly. "But if Leon says there's nothing up then there's nothing up."

"Hey, the races are over," Vince said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you drive back with me?"

I looked at Leon but instead of looking at me he just climbed into his car and waited for the others to do the same. I just nodded my head as I headed for Vince's car. As we got in I couldn't bare to look at him. The inside of his car already reeked of sympathy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Important A/N: **So there will probably be about 20 chapters in this story. Maybe a little less or a little more. I've planned this story out and so far it's 20 chapters. The idea for this story was very small so I don't want the story to be too long.

_Anyway, I also want to thank you for the reviews on this story so far. I've gotten a few guest reviews so I just wanted to let you guys know that I appreciate them :)_

* * *

Quite a few of the racers left the races at the same time we did so it meant that when we got back to the fort the after party was pretty close to being in full swing. I was thankful when Vince didn't say anything as he walked with me to the house. He stayed by my side but he never brought up what had happened, in fact he didn't say a word.

When we were inside I made a beeline for the kitchen. There were a couple of coolers filled with beers and no doubt more would be inside the fridge too. I grabbed one of the bottles out of the cooler and used the bottle opener on the table to open it up. Vince also grabbed one but as I took a drink from mine he raised a brow at me.

"I'm a grown ass woman. Remember?" I muttered.

Vince let out a deep sigh. "You both got a bit heated, I'm sure everything will work out."

"I've seen him angry before but this was different."

"Give him some time, you'll see, he'll be begging for your forgiveness by tomorrow."

"Shouldn't you be on his side?" I asked curiously.

"Even if you were wrong about him being up to something he could have handled it better."

I smiled at that. When Dom intervened earlier I knew that they were probably going to believe Leon no matter what but it was nice to know that Vince still thought he was a little out of order. I tried to let what Vince said sink in. Tomorrow would be a fresh day and no doubt Leon and I would be on good terms like nothing had happened.

Not wanting to think about it until that time arrived I finished off my beer and grabbed Vince's hand. I could practically feel his grin as I pulled him into the middle of the room. There were people all around us dancing so I didn't feel to out in the open as I spun around and tugged Vince towards me. His arms wrapped loosely around me as we danced.

I spent most of the night with Vince. He never brought up Leon again and he was just as bad at dancing as I was. It made everything a lot easier and by the time I went to bed I was able to fall straight to sleep instead of worrying.

* * *

When I woke up the next day I expected to feel relief. We had both had hours and a nights sleep to get over it but something just didn't feel right. I had barely sat up in bed when I heard a soft knock at the door. I made sure I looked decent enough and sat up a little straighter.

"Come in!"

The door open slowly and Dom stepped into the room. He closed the door over a little before he came over to sit on the bed by my feet. I pulled them up and sat cross-legged as he looked down at the ground.

"Dom?"

"After you went to bed and just before the party came to a proper end Leon snuck out."

"He did?" I asked, not really sure where this was going.

Dom nodded but continued to look at the ground. "We figured he just needed to be alone for a bit, but… But he never came back. This morning we got a phone call."

"Did something happened to his car? Is he hurt?" There were so many more questions I wanted to ask but I just wanted to skip that step and have Dom tell me what was going on.

Finally he looked up at me. His face was the picture of sympathy. He reached out but instead of placing his hand on my knee like he first intended he placed it on the bed in front of me. "Cara, I'm so sorry."

"No," I said, shaking my head determinedly. "Where is he?"

"Cara, he's-"

"No!" I screamed before he could answer it. He was wrong. He had to be.

I scrambled off of the bed before he could stop me and ran from the room. I bounded down the stairs, tripping over my feet a few times and barely making it down them in one piece. The team were sat in the kitchen but I didn't stop as I made my way to the basement door and moved quickly down those stairs too. I went straight into Leon's section of the room and looked around frantically. His bed hadn't been slept in and there was no sight of him. I felt ridiculous looking under the bed but I had to make sure.

When I knew he wasn't in there I ran back up the stairs. I burst back through the door just as the team came closer to it. This time I headed out front. I scanned the cars that were there but Leon's wasn't in sight. I stumbled back into the house. The team were there again but no one said a word as I picked up the house phone and started to dial Leon's number.

"Hey, it's Leon. I'm not here right now but feel free to leave a message after the beep."

I hung up and dialled again.

"Hey, it's Leon. I'm not here right now but feel free to leave a message after the beep."

I growled in frustration as I once again hung and redialled.

"Hey, it's Leon. I'm not here right now but feel free to leave a message after the beep."

This time I let the message play out long after the beep. I hadn't realised I was crying until the phone automatically clicked off. I held the phone close to my ear still as I felt someone put their arms around me and pull me back against them.

"He always sucked at answering his phone," I mumbled.

"Cara… You understand what Dom was trying to tell you, right?" Vince asked softly as I dropped the phone and grabbed his arm, turning a little to bury my head into his chest.

"What happened?"

"We're not really sure," he admitted. "He was driving at the time and it looks like he crashed."

"How do you know he's…?"

"The car exploded." His arms tightened around me as a wave of emotion hit me and I began to cry even more. "There was no way he got out of that alive."

I tried to speak. There was so much more that I needed to know but all I could do was cry and hold on to Vince for dear life. Leon couldn't be dead. I only saw him yesterday and today was the day we were supposed to make up and put everything behind us. He couldn't be dead. It wasn't logical. Vince practically held me up as I cried. He held me close to his chest and when I could barely stand up anymore he lifted me up and carried me back upstairs to my room.


	6. Chapter 6

For a long time we just laid there. Vince stayed close enough to let me know that he was there but not too close that I felt trapped. Whenever my chest would tighten and horrific sobs would follow Vince would take a hold of my hand or put his arms around me. When they subsided he would shift back a little or let go of my hand to give me the room to breathe.

Whenever I started to feel like maybe I was finally starting to be okay a wave of emotion would hit me and it would be like being told all over again. It felt like I was constantly reliving it and I only wanted it to stop. Leon couldn't be dead, but all I could think about was that everyone else seemed to think that he was. Dom coming in to tell me and Vince confirming it never seemed to leave me alone.

Thankfully it seemed to subside as time went on. It got to the point where for a short while I laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, and nothing came to mind. I didn't cry and finally I stopped replaying everything in my mind. A part of me still felt like it was missing and my whole body and mind just ached but I felt more secure. At least for now. It had only been a few hours and I knew that eventually all those feelings would return.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Vince asked softly.

"It doesn't seem real."

"I know," he agreed, taking my hand in his again.

I turned my head to the side to look at him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"This." I squeezed his hand, finally holding it back. "You don't really know me that well but you're here and you're doing what you can. I know it's probably for Leon, but I still appreciate it."

"You're right. I am doing this for Leon, he would kill me if I let anything happen to you," he agreed. "But I'm also doing this for you. Just like your brother you get on with us and in a short space of time you've inserted yourself into this family in such an effortless way."

"Does that mean I can stay here for a bit longer?" I asked, my eyes starting to water again.

"You were going to stay here no matter what," Vince told me as he shuffled closer. "Like we were ever going to let you leave. Even before this."

I smiled at him as I rolled onto my side and shuffled closer to him. He brought our hands up to rest between our chests. I let my eyes drift close as I curled up a little and held his hands tightly with my own.

* * *

We stayed up there for a few hours more and in that time I managed to drift off to sleep. When I woke up it was a little after five and I realised how early I must have woken up that morning. I forced myself to get out of bed when I woke again and Vince stayed by my side as we headed downstairs. If they were like Vince I knew the team would maybe bring it up once but wouldn't keep at it. I was ready to not think about it and leave facing everything to another day, but when I got downstairs there were two cops sitting in the living room.

Mia handed them both mugs of coffee as Vince and I stepped into the room. The team all looked over as we entered. Dom came over and wrapped an arm around me. I had to force myself to smile at him and slip away from him subtly. I couldn't afford to lose it in front of the cops, I didn't want to lose it.

"This is Leon's sister," Dom told the cops before looking at me. "This is Davis and Strax."

The woman, Davis, stood up and moved over to shake my head. After her Strax, the man, stood up and shook my hand too. I shook both of their hands back but didn't move as they sat back down.

"We're here about your brother's case," Davis started.

"What about it?" I asked. I tried my best to keep my voice strong.

"The crash happened late last night," Strax spoke up. "We've been processing everything. There's still some work to do but so far it seems like an accident."

"Does that mean you're giving up on the case?" Dom questioned.

"Not at all," Strax said, shaking his head. "We're going to work this case until we've explored everything and we can be sure that it was indeed an accident."

None of this made sense to me. Leon drove dangerously but he wasn't stupid. He could handle a car at high speed better than anybody. If it wasn't foul play then it couldn't be him. "How do you know it was him in the car?"

"His ID was inside of the car," Davis said as she looked in a little notebook. "The fact that it was his car adds to that and also there were fragments of a jacket."

She grabbed a picture from inside of the notebook and held it out to me. I stepped closer and took it. There were in fact two pictures. One was of a few bits of a burnt jacket that was found inside the car and the other was of what the jacket would have looked like it in good condition. I recognised it as Leon's jacket. I looked over at the coat rack as the others looked at it.

"This isn't downstairs," Jesse said as he held the photo up. "Le always left it on his bed or hanging on the back of his door. I didn't see it there or anywhere else."

I stayed silent as Davis and Strax listed off all the other ways that they were sure it was Leon. Getting a visual ID was difficult so they were running DNA tests to really confirm it. They spoke a little more about the case and promised that they would get back in touch if anything else came up. I tried to be nice as I said goodbye to them but I couldn't believe a word they said. Of course his jacket and his ID would be there, it's his car but that and all the other things didn't prove that it was actually Leon in the car.

Before anyone could stop me or talk to me about what just happened, I headed back upstairs.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **sorry that this chapter is so short but I hope you like it and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. :)

* * *

I managed to hide away from the team until the next morning when they woke me up early and made me eat some breakfast. I hated them for it right up until I took the first bite. I didn't realise how hungry I actually was until I started to eat. It helped me to feel a little more human and so did the long shower I took afterwards. I knew that the team were up to something but I chose to ignore on the simple basis that I didn't want to do anything.

"Cara?"

I opened up my bedroom door and put my clothes into the hamper that was beside it. I then closed the door back over and turned around to see Dom. "Yeah?"

"We were wondering if there was anything you wanted to do today?" So that's what they were up to.

"Not really," I admitted.

"Come on, you're dressed." He motioned towards me. "And you really do need to get out of the house."

"There are people who don't leave the house for weeks at times like this," I pointed out.

"And there are people who go to prison," Dom muttered. "Everyone is different. So please, let's go out for a bit."

I looked down at the ground as my most recent recurring thought popped up. "You're not going to want to go where I do."

"Try me."

"This doesn't feel right," I explained, looking back up at him now. "Something about Leon being gone just doesn't seem right. It doesn't make any sense and I know you believe it but I just can't."

"And this has something to do with where you want to go?" he questioned a little unsure.

I nodded. "I want to go to the crash site."

"Cara... I don't think that's such a good idea."

"I can handle it," I argued. "I need to see it for myself."

I can see him mull it over and in the end he still didn't look to sure as he said, "okay, we'll go as soon as everyone's ready."

* * *

An hour later we were all in the car and on our way to the crash site. It was just myself, Dom, Vince and Jesse. They hadn't said a word about our plans but I knew Dom had spoken to them. The whole ride was in complete silence apart from the radio that I had put on to stop myself from getting lost in my thoughts again. Dom drove. Jesse sat behind him just looking out of the window and Vince sat behind me with his arm draped over my seat between my head and the side of the car. Whenever I shifted in my seat his fingers would brush against my shoulder and when I wasn't close enough for that I would reach up and lock my fingers with his.

When we got there it felt completely different to how I expected it to. Dom parked a little away so that I had the chance to change my mind. I didn't. When we got closer I felt nothing but sick. You could see the marks on the corner where the wheels had spun before the turn. Even though the car was no longer there you could see where it had hit and caught fire. I was thankful that I hadn't seen it right after it happened.

"We can go home," Dom told me.

I shook my head. I needed to do this. Vince gave me a reassuring smile and put his arm loosely around my shoulders as we stepped closer. The closer we got the more I started to wonder why on earth we were here, but I wanted to push forward with this. If my instincts were right then I needed something to prove it. We were pretty much right on top of where the car had caught fire. It was on the grass and the area was scorched.

I looked up the street a little. He must have come from the road on the left and turned into this street. Even from here I could see the marks on the road from where the wheels had spun out of control. Everything must have gone wrong from there. There were various indicators that the car had spun completely our of control or even flipped over until it stopped across the side-walk and on the grass.

It started to hit me that even if the car hadn't of caught fire he might not have survived anyway. I prayed that if this was real that he hadn't been concious when it caught fire and that no matter how it went down it was quick.

As we moved back towards the car I still didn't feel right. This wasn't supposed to be some miracle cure but it was supposed to convince me that this had really happened, that Leon was really gone so I at least had a shot at moving on. But as I looked over my shoulder all I could think about was that Leon could take a corner like that at any speed blind folded, so why not this time?


	8. Chapter 8

A few days passed and we had fallen into a routine of sorts. I rarely brought up my suspicions, especially after I started to notice Dom getting more annoyed that sympathetic with me. Even so, the team still put in a lot of effort to keep an eye out and an ear to the ground. They were making sure that the cops were still doing their job until it was case officially closed but it still made me feel better to think they were still somewhat concerned.

Despite it not being about not believing like me I still cut them some slack and kept my mouth shut where I could. Over the few days that passed I started to get to know the team a little better. I was always with at least one of them and I started to feel like I was really making connections. It made everything a lot easier. At least it did for the first two or three days but my mind still wouldn't settle and that's when Dom snapped.

"All I'm saying is that none of this adds up."

Dom let out a breath through gritted teeth as he looked at me. "They have DNA.'"

The results had come in the day before confirming the body in the car was in fact Leon. "That doesn't change how I feel."

"This isn't healthy," Dom snapped. "We all need to grieve. Soon we're going to have to bury him and we need to prepare ourselves. You acting like this isn't helping anyone."

"Fine," I muttered.

Dom gave satisfied nod. As he left the kitchen the others slowly followed. I didn't. Instead I went upstairs to my room to get an early night. If they weren't going to help me then I would have to help myself.

* * *

The next morning I made sure to get up early. I was lucky enough to get up even before Mia. I didn't bother with my usual morning routine of a shower and some breakfast. Instead I called for a taxi and it arrived just as I was finished getting dressed. I took it to the station. I knew it was probably a lost cause but I wanted to cover all angles so I didn't miss anything.

"Cara?" The guy at the front desk had been reluctant to help me. I turned around to see Davis standing there. She came over to the desk. "I've got this Gordon. Thanks."

"Sure thing Lena," he nodded.

Davis led us away and into a room. It was a little bit more comfortable looking than an interrogation room but it still felt cold. There was a couch, a couple of chairs and a coffee table. She sat on one of the chairs so I took the couch.

"How can I help you?" she asked kindly.

"I'm not crazy," I clarified first. "But I needed to make sure."

Her head titled to the side slightly. "Make sure what?"

"Are you one hundred percent sure that it was Leon's DNA?"

She gave me a knowing look then. "Yes. I'm really sorry but it was definitely him. I can get you a copy of the results if that'll help?"

I considered it for a moment. They had showed us the results but having my own copy to go over could help. In the end though I declined. "Thank you but that won't be needed. I just had to check."

"I'd do the same if it were my brother," she assured. "I wish the results were wrong, I really do."

"And you still think it's an accident?"

"We do," she agreed. "Case should be closed soon so you can..."

"Have the funeral," I said knowingly. "He always said he wanted an open casket so he could show off his good looks one last time."

I hadn't realised I was crying then until Davis handed me the box of tissues from the coffee table and gave my knee a reassuring pat. After a few moments I was able to get myself back together enough to thank her for her time and for answering my questions. She seemed genuine when she said she was happy to help where she could and that she was sorry that I couldn't get the answers I really wanted. Even if I thought they were wrong I was thankful to have someone who genuinely seemed to care working on Leon's case.

After the station I took another taxi to the crash site. I didn't stay too long where it had crashed but instead I continued to walk. I back-tracked the route he must have taken. I walked for about ten minutes with no results so I went back to the crossroads. At the end of the street I could see once again where the tires had spun upon turning the corner. As I looked at them I decided to go straight on instead of turning into the road where he had crashed.

This time I walked for about fifteen minutes and I was about to give up but then I reached another crossroads and saw similar marks. Another car had been here and I didn't think it was some kind of coincidence. The cops must have ruled it out or this hadn't been in their search area. Two conclusions came to mind. Either someone had been chasing Leon, causing him to crash and they drove on _or_ Leon wasn't in his car and he got away in a different one. With the evidence the first option seemed more likely, but that still suggested foul play and not an accident. I knew the team and even the cops would say I was clutching at straws but it all felt too compelling for me.

For me this was enough evidence to investigate further and that's exactly what I planned to do.


	9. Chapter 9

I managed to get back to the fort just in time for the preparation of the Sunday barbecue. It was a little after two. I had spent most of my time wandering around before I called a taxi again. The team were getting the barbecue out and preparing some of the food. They were missing that bounce in their step that they usually had but I knew this was a tradition and that was probably why they were doing it.

No one questioned where I had been as I came over to help. At first I helped Jesse and Vince set up the table and chairs. When that was done I went into the kitchen to help Mia and Letty. Dom had the meat covered so everything else was our territory. While we worked on everything the boys started to take beers and other drink from the fridge and took it all outside in a cooler. When we had finally finished with the food we started to take it out bit by bit as Dom got ready to plate up all of the meat.

Once everything was set and we were all seated Dom didn't wait for the usual 'let's see who snaps first' as he bowed his head and reached his hands out. We each held the hands of the people beside us as Dom said grace. Small talk followed after he was done and we began to eat. It didn't feel uncomfortable, it just felt gentle, softer.

Everything started to change when some people showed up. I recognised one of them from the races and I vaguely recognised the rest. The team greeted them like they were old friends, family even. They each pulled up some chairs around the table and ate as well. The conversation picked up a little then. They were talking mostly about cars. After dinner and once all the plates and that were cleared away everyone spread about a little.

I found out that the guy I recognised was Hector and the other guys were the people he raced and hung about with. I ended up sitting by Vince. Even he was starting to get a little frustrated with me, but he never actually said so. In fact he either spent his time trying to make me smile or we just sat in a comfortable silence. He never pressed me to talk to him but he made it perfectly clear that he was there for me if I did need someone to talk to.

We weren't sat together long before Hector and a couple of his guys came over. Vince made some introductions and I got the usual condolences. None of them lingered on it too much though. They were very happy to move the conversation along a little. I let it for a bit, nodding my head at the appropriate places and smiling too. When Hector's guys (Nico and Adam) and Vince seemed to get really into the conversation I tapped Hector's arm and motioned for him to follow me.

I led him away from the others. When I was sure that no one was too close I spoke. "That night at the races Leon was speaking to someone."

"I noticed," Hector agreed. "You think he has something to do with it?"

From the sound of his voice as he asked the question I knew the mysterious guy was bad news. "He might. Do you know him?"

He looked over his shoulder at everyone, contemplating it. "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

"No, but I still need to ask you not to say anything. I'm ruining their lives by going on about this constantly. This is for _my_ peace of mind but I haven't got a death wish."

He still seemed to contemplate it but after a few moments he nodded. "His name is Asher. He used to be into jacking cars, but lately I've heard that he's been running around with some dangerous people. They've been trying to get Harry in their pocket for years."

"Harry?"

"Have you ever heard of Racer's Edge?" I nodded my head. I'd never been before but I knew Dom did some work with them. "Well Harry runs the place."

"Thank you, Hector."

He gave me a soft smile in response to my own. I waited for him to head back to the others before I ran into the house. I knew he would eventually tell them what he told me and I didn't want to be stopped. I grabbed my jumper where I had discarded it earlier. I then went to the glass bowl near the front door where everyone put their keys. I fished through until I found Vince's. He would still be pissed but I figured he would be less angry at me for taking his car than anyone else.

After that I was out of the house, inside of the Vince's car and driving away within seconds. I had no exact idea where I was going, just a rough idea. Admittedly I was driving around a little aimlessly but I eventually found the place. I pulled into one of the spaces (although technically I ended up parking across two spaces) and got out. The place was shut but there was still a light on. I ran up to the doors and started knocking.

"Harry?" I called. "I'm friends with Dominic Toretto, please, can you open up!"

Thankfully using Dom's name paid off like I was hoping it would. Harry came to the door and didn't even hesitate to open it up. He opened the door enough to lean out of it slightly.

"You know Dom, huh?"

"Yes. I'm Leon's sister."

His face instantly dropped and he moved back to let me in. "I'm sorry, come on in."

"Thanks," I mumbled as I stepped inside.

"How can I help?" he questioned as he shut the door behind us.

"I'm looking for someone and you might know them."

He looked at me curiously. "Who are you looking for?"

"A guy named Asher. I want to find him and the people he works with." I ignored the alarmed look on Harry's face. "I heard they've been trying to get you to work with them. So you must know where they are."

"What do you want with them?"

"I just need the ask them a couple of questions."

"You ever heard of Tran?" I shook my head 'no'. "Well, Johnny Tran and Dom have always had issues. They're not allowed in each other's territory. They have a bust up every so often, it's inevitable."

"What does this have to do with Asher?"

"The people Asher works for," Harry started. "Even Tran won't cross them. These people are into some hard-core stuff, drug trafficking mostly. And I'm talking about class A drugs here."

"I get the point," I told him. "But I'm still going to find them, all I'm asking is that you help me."

He sighed as he made his way over to the counter. He slipped behind it and rummaged through one of the shelves. Eventually he reappeared with a notepad and pen. He scribbled down something and then ripped out the page to hand to me. On it was an address which I hoped would lead me to Asher.

"He works for a very dangerous man," Harry warned me. "His name is Carlos. You do not want to get on the wrong side of him. He even says one word to you, you run."

"I'm not going to get into trouble," I assured him.

He didn't seem sure but the second he nodded I hastily left the building. I got into Vince's car again and I didn't look at the address again until I was a couple of blocks away and could be sure I'd get where I needed to go before the team ever got to Racer's Edge.


	10. Chapter 10

**So I've written the next few chapters. This story should be finished within the next couple of weeks at most. Anyway, thanks for any and all love on this story. Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

Eventually I got to the address. It was surprisingly easy to find and I was surprised to see that it was a pretty average house. It was a little bigger that the Toretto's house but nothing to suggest that it came from a lot of money. It wasn't on too much of a busy street so I had to be careful where I parked Vince's car so I didn't get caught. I didn't want this to come back and bite Vince or the others in the ass.

I was there for a good hour or two before I saw any movement. A few men stepped out of the front of the house. They had their backs to the road and they were smoking. I recognised Asher right away. He must have been about Leon's age but he definitely looked like he fitted in here. Two of the guys with Asher both had guns so I figured they were some kind of bodyguards. The two of them were standing either side of the third man, one of them kept looking up and down the street to make sure everything was okay. I figured then that that must be Carlos. There were still shadows flickering passed the windows so I knew there must be more people inside, probably all of them with guns or some kind of weapon.

From where I was I couldn't hear a word they were saying but I waited them out, hoping that they would do something that could help me. I sat there for the longest time but all they did was smoke and chat a little. A couple of times someone from inside came out but it never led anywhere. They either spoke a little or handed Asher. Carlos and the two men more cigarettes. I was starting to get surprised that the team hadn't come yet and I was about to take it to my advantage by staying longer but the man who kept looking up the street was starting to rest his eyes on the same area I was in more often. There was no way he could see me or the car from where he was. I had deliberately chosen a spot where a couple of the street-lights were off but I could tell he was suspicious. Luckily for me Carlos ushered them inside before the man could investigate further.

The second they were back inside I started the car and left as fast as I could. I was a couple of streets away when headlights came up behind me. My heart was racing and I went to hit the gas pedal just as the lights dimmed and I caught sight of the cars. I cursed as Jesse and Dom's cars came into view. They must have found out where I was but just held back until I left. I didn't pick up speed but I didn't stop either, I just headed back to the fort.

* * *

"What were you thinking?" Dom yelled.

I looked at Vince who just shook his head at me. He wasn't quite as angry as Dom but he was still pretty pissed at me for taking his car. I knew a lot of it was more down to me having gone there, his car was just an extra thing to yell at me for. We were all in the living room. Mia and Letty had been asked to go upstairs but both of them refused to. Hector had apologised, saying he had my best interest at heart and so did Harry. I made sure he knew that I wasn't angry with him before he left. Now, however, Dom was rounding on me and I could see that Vince really wasn't happy and even though he didn't show it, Jesse didn't appear to be happy either.

"I know how you feel about my feelings over Leon's crash," I told him as I tried to remain calm. "But I have reason to believe that he's not dead." I waved him away as he went to argue. "I know, there was DNA and everything else just proves it more. But I at least have proof that it wasn't an accident."

"Even if it really was Leon we can't just give up if it was on purpose," Vince spoke up, finally coming to my aid. "I hate that we can't seem to move on but maybe it's not her, maybe it's because we know it wasn't an accident."

"What makes you think it's not?" Dom questioned, his voice a lot calmer.

"First is the site itself. Leon could have taken that corner blind folded, but I looked around the area. Either the cops dismissed it or it was out of bounds, but I found more tire marks away from where the car crashed. If it is connected then that means there was a second car."

"Seems like an awfully big coincidence if it isn't connected," Letty mumbled as the team each shared looks.

"And even if that's not enough," I continued on. "That paired with the fact that he was talking with people as dangerous as Asher and Carlos just screams foul play."

"She isn't wrong," Jesse said. "Nothing is ever legit with them."

"But that's no excuse for you to go there alone," Dom said but I could see that although the anger was bubbling up a little again he seemed to believe what I was saying. "Anything could have happened, one of them could have-"

He was cut off at some loud knocking on the door. It was getting really late now and there was no need for anyone to be here. Dom motioned for us to stay quiet and not to move as he went over to the door. Vince moved closer but stayed in the room with us.

"Jesus Christ," Dom cursed as he opened up the door properly. "Come in."

He came into the living room followed by Davis and Strax. The former offered me a smile. It was a genuine smile and although there was some sadness I could still detect an underline of hope.

"What?" I asked. I couldn't help the hopeful sound that rose up.

"Remember when you came to me and I said I couldn't give you the answers you really wanted?" Davis questioned. I nodded a little as I edged closer to the edge of my seat. "Well, it looks like I can finally give you those answers."

My heart started to beat faster and I just stared at her. The team were all looking between us and they could tell they were itching to find out more.

"What's going on?" Mia asked softly.

"I went to the station, I had to make sure that the answers we got were real. I asked if the DNA was one hundred percent and if they were sure it was an accident."

The team all looked at Davis now. "And?"

"I was curious after you came to me so I asked the labs to re-check the samples," Davis explained.

"I thought she was out of her mind, we need to keep some in case there's ever a chance that someone official challenges our results," Strax said with a smile. "But it paid off this time."

"Your brother's DNA was in the car but there was also trace of somebody else's," Davis continued on. "It wasn't a big enough trace to suggest anything but the fact that that trace hadn't been in the report and it wasn't held separately suggested sloppy work."

"So we looked into who was doing the lab work for us. We found the guy who found Leon's DNA. We checked out his most recent cases. Seems there is a lot of things that don't add up. We've been interrogating him since late last night on the suspicion of tampering with evidence."

"And he was?" Vince questioned, hope even slipping into his voice.

"Yeah, he was. He's in the pocket of various criminals," Davis confirmed. "He won't say who paid him off, but he admitted to making it seem like Leon's DNA was the primary one. He noted other unidentifiable trace but said just that, that it was scarce. He lied. The amount of Leon's DNA that we found is the amount you would expect considering he owns the car but not enough to say the body was his."

"Our lab guy is good friends with the coroner," Strax continued on. "Between the two of them they were able to fake some stuff and send us in a completely wrong direction."

"So what does this mean?" Dom asked. I'd never seen him look so stunned before.

"You still looked unsure before," I pointed out to Davis.

"We now have proof that Leon wasn't in the car and is in fact alive," Davis said softly. "But it also suggests some kind of foul play. Leon could still be in trouble."

"But you're still working on it?" Letty asked.

"Of course we are," Strax agreed. "We're looking into everyone who has worked on the case as well as going on and over every bit of evidence that we have."

"We're doing everything that we can to find Leon," Davis assured.

The conversation thinned out from there. More of the finer details were laid out and a lot more of the legal stuff too. Mostly everyone was in shock more than anything. Dom and Vince listened to most of what was being said while the rest of us just sort of nodded along and tried to listen carefully.

For the most part I was too shocked to think of anything. I was right. And not just about it being foul play but about Leon not actually being dead. If he was with Carlos then he might be dead anyway but today he had more of a chance than he had before. As they were leaving I made my way out the back to sit on the steps. I needed to wrap my head around this. I always believed I was right but now to actually hear it. It was taking everything out of me.

"Cara?"

I looked over my shoulder, surprised to see Mia and Jesse. I moved over on the step slightly. Mia sat on the step below me and Jesse sat on the one above me with his feet on the same step as me.

"I always knew something wasn't right," I told them both.

"We're sorry we didn't believe you," Mia said softly.

I offered them both a smile. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." Jesse shook his head. "I know we haven't been your family for long but you're still Leon's family. We should have trusted you."

"It's fine guys, really," I assured.

"Doesn't mean we're not going to make it up to you." We all looked back to see Letty standing in the doorway. "Dom and Vince wants us back inside."

The three of us got up and we all headed back inside. To my surprise as soon as Vince saw me he smiled and held his arms out a little. I walked straight into them. As his arms wrapped around me he squeezed tightly.

"I'm so sorry we didn't believe you," he whispered.

"We really are," Dom agreed. "And we want to finally do something about it."

I twisted around a little to look at him. "Do what exactly?"

"We think Carlos and his men are a great lead." Dom sent me a proud smile and I couldn't help but smile back. "However, this time we're all going to help. You're not going to do this alone."

I turned around properly and leaned back against Vince's chest. I wrapped my arms around myself with Vince's on top and our fingers locked together.

"I knew you guys weren't really that stupid."

The others glared at me playfully and Vince pinched my sides softly. "Don't let it get to your head."

I smiled properly for the first time in what felt like a life time. There was still a sense of worry and seriousness in the air but finally we all seemed to be on the same page and there was hope. "So when do we start?"

* * *

**I'm not a legal, forensics, investigator and whatever expert so if anything in here seems far-fetched or false then that's just the beauty of fiction.**


	11. Chapter 11

"Would you stop doing that?"

I stopped tapping the dashboard at Vince's words but I still continued to look towards the house. We were all up most of the night coming up with a plan and this morning we set to work. Letty, Mia and Jesse were staying at the house as back-up although I'm sure it was just a way for Dom to keep the girls out of the way. He and Vince were going to go at it alone but I convinced them they needed some help. Naturally I was going to go and I managed to get them not to argue about it. As well as that they also got Hector and a couple of his boys to sit a few streets away in each direction in case we needed them.

"We've got a plan," Vince reminded me. "We'll go in when it's right."

"I was here before, remember? I saw two people with guns. For all we know the other men have guns too."

"You came at night, they have a routine and part of that routine is for some of them to go out for today's work."

"And how do we know that Carlos isn't going to go with them?" I questioned.

"We'll deal with Carlos whether he leaves today or not," Vince assured. "Today is more about finding out what happened to Leon."

I started to tap the dashboard nervously again but before Vince could tell me to stop there was movement from the house. Despite being far enough away we both ducked down. Dom's voice came across the walkie-talkie we had. He let us know that Carlos was leaving with half a dozen guys. From our intel we knew that there was Carlos, Asher and ten guys in his immediate team. That meant that Asher and four of the guys were still potentially inside. After Hector's guys confirmed that Carlos and all that were in fact leaving Vince and I got out of the car.

We met Dom on the side walk outside of the house and headed up to the house together. I didn't question where Vince got the gun he had or the fact that Dom's weapon of choice was part of a tire iron. I stayed close to them, ignoring Dom's offer that I could still go back to the car. It only took a look between the two of them and they were both kicking down the door. Vince and I moved to one side of the door and Dom to the other. Just like we had all predicted the men inside fired. No sound came. At least they were smart enough to use silencers. After the shooting stopped two of them came towards the door to check it out. As they stepped outside Vince hit one with the butt of his gun and Dom hit the other with his tire iron.

They pushed the bodies back into the house so no one walking pass would see. I followed in behind them. The first room beyond the entrance was the living room. Asher was in there with the other two remaining guys. All three of them had their guns raised.

"We don't have anything here for you to take," one of the guys said.

"We don't want any of that," Dom said as he swung the tire iron around in his hand. "We want our brother back."

"Toretto." Asher grinned.

I watched as he dropped his hand but still kept a hold of his gun as he sat in the chair he was originally stood behind. The two guys still kept their guns raised so we couldn't step any closer.

"I wasn't expecting you to work it out so quickly," he admitted with that amused grin still in place. "I mean, we were lucky to get to our contacts in the lab when we did otherwise it would have been game over."

"Where is he?" I demanded as I pushed passed Vince and Dom. I couldn't wait any longer. This obviously hadn't been planned on their part so Leon could still be in trouble. "Tell me!"

"I remember you from the races," Asher said. He leaned forward squinting at me. "Not a Toretto and not Toretto's girl so _who_ are you?"

"Where is he?" I demanded again.

"Most of the girls who hang around this lot are too stupid," Asher pointed out as he sat back in his chair again. "So you must be his sister."

"Like I said, where is he?"

Asher smirked and a flick of his hand had the guys shooting in our direction. Vince tried to pull me back but I was dragged forward too quickly. I could hear both him and Dom curse as Asher held me against him.

"It was nice seeing you boys again." He tapped the top of my head with what I assumed was his gun. "Thanks for the gift."

As another hail of bullets were unleashed on Dom and Vince I was dragged away from them. I tried my best to get away but it was damn near impossible. I just had to trust that Asher would take me to Leon and that the team would be smart enough to find us both.

* * *

**Okay this is NOT and NEVER will be a damsel in distress story. This is just a minor part of the story, it's all still about Cara finding Leon.**


	12. Chapter 12

"They're not coming," Asher taunted.

It was the next morning. I knew so because Asher wouldn't stop telling me that it was as he tried to rub in the fact that they hadn't come yet. Carlos had dropped in this morning. Two of the guys were outside and another four were inside with us. They hadn't done anything to me but so far their top choice was to use me as a bargaining chip.

"What do you want to do, boss?"

I wanted to laugh. If I was being honest Carlos didn't look old enough to be anyone's boss at least not the kind of boss that got pleasure from being called such a thing.

"You know how to contact them?"

"Yeah, do you want me to?"

"Set up a deal," Carlos confirmed. "Make sure they understand how urgent it is."

"Done, boss."

Asher left with one of the guys while Carlos sat down. We were in a house but a different one to the one I had sat outside of and was taken from. This one looked like there was at least a bit of money behind it. It still wasn't big but it was more out of the way and definitely looked nicer. There was a fence and an electric gate that no doubt had alarms. I couldn't see beyond that out of the window so I had no idea where we were exactly.

My hands were bound but otherwise I was left to sit on the couch. One of the men were always nearby with their gun ready to shoot me in case I tried anything stupid. Part of me prayed that the team would come to get me but the other part was praying that they'd go and find Leon like we originally planned.

* * *

I stared in shock as Dom, Vince and Jesse piled into the living room. I definitely didn't expect Letty or Mia to come because the guys would never have let them but I never expected them to come either, especially without any weapons.

"So what do you want?" Dom demanded.

That surprised me even more. Clearly they had no idea what Carlos wanted in exchange for me but yet they still came.

"First a little story," Carlos said. He crossed his legs but made no movement to get up. "Leon came to me with money problems." Dom, Vince and Jesse all looked at each other. We figured Leon would have had a reason to get involved with them, turns out that reason was us. "We let him do a few jobs with us. You're not my favourite person Toretto but I know that you and your family can race. So I let him race for me."

"What happened?" Dom questioned but his eyes were on me. I tried to give him the most reassuring smile I could muster in the current situation.

"He was only getting 25% of what was made but I'm guessing that was on top of what you were already making," Carlos said as he motioned to us all. "He was doing well. The night of the races, when all of this happened, he got upgraded to a bigger deal, more than racing. He lost me $250,000."

No wonder Leon was involved even 25% of that would have given the team something and if he kept it up then they would have another good source of income within a few months. I noticed then that Dom's eyes were still on me. I watched him curiously and suddenly he mouthed 'down'.

I didn't even hesitate as I threw my body forward and covered my head with my hands as best as I could. As noise erupted around me I looked under my arm to see guns being fired and everyone moving so fast I could hardly tell who was who. I looked to see the guy who was keeping an eye on me gone. I tried to stay low as I crawled around the side of the couch and hid myself between it and the wall. I looked around me for something to use as a weapon but there was nothing in sight.

As I peeked round the corner I saw that Dom, Vince and Jesse were behind the walls separating the living room from the hall. They were using it as barrier. Every so often they would reappear long enough to shoot. Jesse didn't seem to have a weapon and I noticed that Dom and Vince's guns had belonged to two of the men. I wanted to scream at them for being so stupid as to start a gun fight without any actual guns. Three of the guys including the guy who was watching me were down. That left one other guy, Carlos and Asher in the room. All three had guns but now it was a fair fight. I had to believe that the others that had been outside were dealt with or would be dealt with easily.

I was looking frantically for a weapon again when Vince managed to take out the guy and Dom managed to wound Asher. The latter stayed upright though and stuck to protecting Carlos. I noticed that Carlos' gun was out of bullets. He was looking at all the guns lying near each of his men and clearly contemplating which one he could get. I scanned the room, looking further afield for some kind of weapon. All of the guns were too far away and that's when my eyes fell on the fireplace. Without hesitating I scrambled over to it and grabbed the poker. Luckily it was on my side of the room and it only got me Asher and Carlos. I gripped the poker and charged towards them.

I hit Asher hard on the shoulder where the bullet had hit me. He cursed loudly as he ran and let off one more shot towards the others. I didn't stop as I kept running and crashed right into Carlos, sending us both flying. I could hear Dom, Vince and Jesse behind me as they checked Asher and came towards me. Carlos tried to grab for one of the guns while also trying to through me off. I dug my knee harshly into his side and jabbed the blunt end of the poker into his stomach. He stopped reaching for the poker and I was able to pin him down. I grabbed each end of the poker and pressed it down on his neck, forcing him to keep his head back.

I heard Vince hold back a laugh as he, Jesse and Dom stood somewhere behind us. "In a bit of a pickle?" I heard Dom question, the humour clear in his voice too.

"You never answered my question," I snarled at Carlos. "Where is he?"

When he didn't answer Jesse asked, "what happened?"

At that Carlos smiled a little. I loosened my force a little to let him speak. "Leon wasn't near his car when things went sour. He was near the cars from my business associates. Things started to go seriously wrong so he knocked one of them out, took their keys and took off in their car. One of my guys followed him."

"He's the guy in the car," Dom said in realisation.

"Like I said, you all can race, it didn't take long for Leon to get away." Carlos grinned up at me. "Your brothers burnt out car with a unidentifiable body inside. It was too good to be true."

"Why do it?" Jesse questioned. "You must have already had him?"

"Why would I risk you lot coming after me?" Carlos questioned. "Or the police for that matter. As far as they knew it was an accident."

We now knew the story to the why and the how but I needed another questioned answered. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is he?"

Carlos suddenly started to laugh. It was manic. He was out of his mind and I started to wonder if he actually had gone crazy. Vince and Dom were telling him to shut up but he just kept laughing. Even when I applied pressure on the poker he still kept laughing. I debated hitting him again but before I could he suddenly stopped and the next thing I knew I was being thrown aside.

He was on top of me with the poker in hand. He lifted it as if to strike me but before he could _he_ fell on top of me. I pushed him aside and as I sat up I noticed he'd been hit from behind. As Jesse helped me up Vince kicked him repeatedly in the stomach.

"Stop!" Dom yelled. The two of them shared a look before Vince took a step back. Dom then looked down at Carlos as the latter rolled onto his back. "You're lucky we don't kill you."

I just stared at Dom in shock and that only grew as Vince and Jesse led me outside. I tried not to question it as we got to the cars. Dom and Jesse got into Dom's car while Vince and I got into his. I kept looking back at the house as we drove away. We needed him to find out where Leon was and either way he needed to pay for what he had done. As I lost sight of the house I finally noticed the cars following me. I recognised them instantly as Hector and his boys. Knowing that there had been some kind of plan in place I sat back and tried to put my trust in the fact that the team knew what they were doing.

* * *

When we got back to the fort the first thing the team did was make sure I was okay. Hector stuck around but sent his boys away. Letty and Mia both sat with me on the couch but all I wanted was some answers.

"We needed Carlos," I said as I tried not to get too emotional about the situation.

"And where do you think the rest of Hector's boys are?" Dom questioned with a raised brow.

"What?" I asked as I looked at everyone.

"Part of the plan was for Carlos to think everyone had left," Mia explained. From the proud tone I knew this part was her plan. "A couple of Hector's boys stayed behind. They should be tailing Carlos now."

"Tailing him where?"

"To Leon," Letty said with a smile of her own. "He's going to worry now that we took out his closest men so he's going to need Leon. He's going to lead us right to him."

I stared at them all. "And you couldn't tell me about this sooner?!"

Vince came over to the couch. Letty got up and he sat down in her place. "We couldn't. Not until we knew he wouldn't find out."

"Why do you think he did it?" Jesse questioned, changing the conversation. He didn't have to say his name for us to know he meant Leon.

"For you lot," Hector shrugged.

"But why Carlos?" I asked.

"It was a lot of money," Dom sighed. "If a race got cancelled or work at the garage got any less then we wouldn't have been able to afford the cars to race anyway but even beyond that we wouldn't be able to pay the bills or even do something as simple as buy groceries."

Silence followed. Leon knew that Carlos was dangerous and he clearly felt like he had no choice but he had done this alone to keep everyone else out of it. No doubt this had started before I showed up but he even kept it from me. I finally got up from the couch and broke the silence.

"Let's go and get him."


	13. Chapter 13

We headed back towards the house Carlos had been holding me at. We were almost there when Hector got the call from his boys. Apparently Carlos had been picked up and they had driven away in the opposite direction from the one we had left in after the team got me back. Everyone seemed to know the address that Hector relayed over the radios so it didn't take us long to get there.

"What's going on?" Dom asked after Hector got updated.

"Carlos went in with two guys," Hector informed us. "They have no idea who else might already be in there though."

"Do they know if Leon's okay?" I questioned.

"There's been no commotion," Hector assured. "Two of my guys are around the back too so there's no way they got out."

We were outside some kind of warehouse. It was box shaped and tiny, only one floor possibly two. It didn't look big enough to have too many exits so I hoped that they were still inside.

"We ready for this?" Dom asked.

"Letty, Hector and I are going around to the back of the building," Mia confirmed. "We're to wait there."

"I'm staying out this end," Jesse continued on.

"And Cara?" Vince asked with an unimpressed tone.

"I'm coming in with you and Dom," I said with satisfaction. "Whether you like it or not."

"Do as planned or I'll shoot you myself," Dom warned.

I knew he was joking about actually shooting me but I had no doubt that he would find some other way to take it out on me. I gave him my most innocent smile and our plan went ahead. Everyone apart from Vince, Dom and I got into position. We waited for our signal and when it was confirmed we headed towards the entrance of the warehouse. Dom entered first and several minutes later he reappeared to let us in.

We stepped over the two guards he had taken down and hid behind some old machinery. The room was hollow bar a few machines dotted around. There was a walkway above us going around the outside of the room. It only led to a small office with glass windows that looked down on us. I could see Carlos and the rest of his men inside of it, soon they would look and see.

I took the time to study the room again in more detail. My eyes landed on something in the middle of it. _Leon_. His hands were bound together and they were above his head attached to chain that hung from one of the machines. He was concious but he didn't look too good. I went to get up but Dom pulled me back.

"He'll see you," Dom hissed.

"He'll see his men are missing anyway," I pointed out.

He and Vince shared a look before the latter said, "we've got to do something and it better be quick."

Dom set his walkie talkie to the lowest volume and held it to his mouth. "Jess if you hear me get ready. We're going to be coming fast. Do not respond to this unless there's an issue." We all looked over at where Carlos was. If Jesse's voice came through it might create more noise and alert them to us. After a while no response came so he put it back to his mouth again. "Hector if you hear this do not respond unless you can't do what I'm about to ask. Get Mia and Let in the cars and have the cars ready to go.I need one of you to come in the back. There should be some stairs that lead up to a walkway. Be aware that Carlos and his men are there. Either Vince or I will be up there too. We're doing this now."

We waited again but like before no voice came back to us. Vince and Dom both looked at the nearest staircases. There were stairs in each corner of the room. Two of them were near us but only one would be safe to get to.

"Okay, I'm gonna go," Dom said as he angled himself in the direction of the chosen stairs.

"Not a chance," Vince said as he placed his hand on Dom's shoulder. "It's my turn."

Before Dom could argue Vince headed towards the stairs. It was clear both Dom and I wanted to argue but we both kept quiet. When he was near the top we started to make our way towards where Leon was.

It took a few stops and starts but eventually we got to him. As I placed my hand on his shoulder he looked up at me with relief. I tried to reassure him as Dom worked on getting him free. From above us I could hear noise getting louder and louder. It was hard to see who was in that small room so for all I knew Vince and Hector could be out numbered.

I tried not to dwell on it though as I helped Dom to get Leon free. After a couple of failed attempts we finally got him free. Dom put Leon's arm around his shoulder and helped him to stand up. As Dom helped to support him while they walked I stayed in front to check that our path was clear. Once again it took a few stops and starts to get where we wanted to go. When we got to the door we headed right outside.

"What do we do?" I called back to them.

"Catch." I turned around in time to catch the walkie-talkie as he threw it at me. "Tell Vince and Hector to get out now."

Still half-running I brought it up to my mouth and pressed the button. "We've got Leon, you guys need to get out of there. _Now_."

We had reached the cars before any voice came over the radio. "Go. We'll be right behind you."

I looked back at the warehouse. From out here there was no indication that anything was going on inside. The cars from behind the build came out and raced back in the direction of home. Dom managed to get Leon into the back of his car. I debated running back inside to get Vince and Hector but before I could even take a step Dom grabbed me and all but forced me into the car, locking the doors so I couldn't get back out again.

"What are you doing?" I screamed as we drove away. "We need to go back for them!"

"Vince's car is there, they'll be fine," Dom assured as he drove faster. "Check on Leon!"

I suddenly became aware of my brother half lying down on the seats beside me. I turned properly to check on him. I wanted to make sure he was really okay, that there were no serious injuries but all I could do was stare.

"You can stop staring," he mumbled, shifting a little in pain. "I know I screwed up."

"I can't believe you're alive."

"Yeah, I heard what happened."

"She knew you weren't dead, man," Dom called back to us. "None of us believed her though."

"Always said you got the brains." He smirked.

"Yeah, and you got the looks," I said, rolling my eyes at him.

Suddenly he turned serious again. "This won't ever be over until one of us is dealt with."

Dom caught Leon's eye in the rear view mirror. "I know."

Leon still looked like he was in pain but eventually he sunk into his seat and looked at me. "I'm so sorry, Cara."


	14. Chapter 14

We didn't exactly sleep soundly that night but we tried. Mia checked Leon over, making sure there was no lasting damage. He was pretty beaten up but generally there was nothing to suggest that he needed any emergency treatment. We made it clear that he was to tell us if he started to feel worse but we never took him to the hospital. Our next debate was whether or not to call the police and let them know that Leon was alive. In the end we decided that it would only bring up questions and there was no way we could ensure that Carlos and his men were dealt with.

Throughout the night and all of the next day Dom and Vince were constantly by themselves. The rest of us made sure that Leon didn't do a thing. Mia did all the food so he didn't have to get up for that and when he was getting restless Jesse, Letty and I would sit with him and make sure that he stayed put. We watched a couple of movies and generally avoided the most recent events. It was only that night that we found out what Dom and Vince had been up to.

"How are you feeling?" Dom asked Leon as he sat on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Leon sat up a little straighter, the pain still clear on his face. "It's going to take a few days, but I'm fine."

"Good." Dom nodded. I could see he was itching to ask what they had been doing to Leon since we last saw him like the rest of us but he held back. "We have a plan."

"What kind of plan?" Letty asked curiously.

"A race of course." I looked over to the biggest grin on Vince's face.

"We've been speaking with Hector and Carlos," Dom explained. "We've got a deal in place. Our cars are worth a lot. If we lose Carlos gets them and leaves us alone. If we win we keep our cars and he leaves us alone."

"Do you think it'll stick?" I asked.

"Probably not," Vince admitted. "But it's what we do best and we've got to do something."

"Even if it keeps them off of our back for a bit," Leon said. "No doubt the money they make from the cars will dwindle and they'll want more from us."

"We'll think of something more permanent eventually," Dom assured, no hint of anger towards Leon for getting them into this. "We always do."

"So when is this happening?" Mia asked.

"Now." Dom looked to me. "Who do you think should race?"

"You're asking _me_?" He nodded and I looked at them all. In a heartbeat I would have chosen Leon but he definitely wasn't up to it. As much as I loved Jesse, Letty and Mia I seemed to automatically skip over them too. So that just left Dom and Vince. I knew that Dom was the best racer but Vince had been there for me a lot lately. I gave him a soft smile when he caught my eye. "You better get your car ready."

* * *

Leon put an arm around my shoulders while we watched. We were all stood by the cars. Mia had her arm looped through Letty's as they stood beside us. Hector had relayed the rules and was now waiting to start the race. They were to race straight down and come back up again. There was an area at the end where they could turn the cars around but from the looks of it only one car would be able to at a time. The two cars were ready to go. I noticed that Carlos wasn't racing but had chosen someone to race for him. Dom and Jesse were by Vince's car. The former was talking to him through the open window while the latter was under the hood of the car making last minute checks.

When the two of them finally stepped away and both cars were clear Hector stood in front of them. He shouted out the rules one more time before he counted down the start of the race. Dom and Jesse were both back by us now and as they turned around to look the cars took off. Carlos' racer was already in front and although I never raced I knew that his fast speed was a little premature. Vince stayed close but didn't increase his speed too much or push ahead.

"This deal better work," I said as I watched the race intently.

"It will," Leon assured as he squeezed my shoulder.

"For now at least," Letty muttered.

We watched the race more intently now. They were passed the half-way mark and almost at the end. They were nearly there when Vince finally picked up speed. He swerved around the other car and reached the end within seconds. It looked like he was going to crash right into the buildings ahead when he spun the car around on the spot and raced back up, passing the other driver who hadn't even turned yet.

The race still wasn't over and Vince was half-way back when the other driver made the turn and was catching up with him again. Everything I could was crossed and I practically held my breath as I watched them. They were getting closer and closer to us. Although Vince was ahead the gap between the two of them was getting smaller and smaller. Any false moves could lose us the race. I was practically on my toes leaning forward as I watched intently. They were pretty much there and they were neck and neck. I gripped Leon's arm tightly and I finally stopped holding my breath as Vince managed to squeeze in front and cross the finish line first.

It didn't seem real as Vince brought the car to a stop and Hector yelled the results into the air. It was only when the team started laughing that it finally started to sink in. For me this wouldn't be enough. Leon was stupid for doing this kind of business but Carlos was the reason why Leon was in such a dangerous position and it was him that kept Leon locked up. For now I had Leon back alive and we would be able to heal a little. At least for a couple more days.

Leon grabbed me suddenly and hugged me tight. I hugged him back and for a moment we forgot about his injuries. It was the first honest, genuine smile I had seen from him since I arrived. After we made sure that Carlos was going to honour the deal we didn't stick around. We tried not to think about the fact that Carlos hadn't gotten the money back that Leon lost him.

It seemed that Leon was already starting to forget. He and I were in the back of Vince's car when he suddenly let out a heavy sigh. "I can't believe that asshole totalled my car."

Vince started laughing as I rolled my eyes at my brother.

* * *

The next day we were all in the house after lunch. Lately work had been even slower than usual but Dom, Vince, Jesse and Letty went into the garage while Mia and I stayed back with Leon. We didn't do much for the morning seen as the others would be coming home early. We had all agreed to have a family meeting when they got back. After recent events it was clear that some things needed to be discussed.

When they got back Mia was curled up on the arm chair while Leon and I were on the couch. I was lying down with my feet in his lap while he had his propped up on the coffee table. Dom didn't sit down but Letty squeezed on the armchair with Mia while Jesse sat in front of them on the floor. I sat up a little so Vince could sit down and then I leaned against his side.

"Le, why did you do it, man?" Vince asked, starting the conversation off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dom questioned.

"Cara hasn't been here that long and even she started to notice things about us," Leon pointed out as he recounted me asking where they got their money from. "I've been here for years. I know when we're having a bad month, or a few bad months. We needed to get ahead and then maybe we could relax a little. Carlos was a means to an end, I never meant for it to get that far."

"I can get a job," I said suddenly. All eyes turned to me and I just sunk back a little. "I mean, I know I was helping around the garage but I could get a job outside of here. If I bring in outside money then that's better, right?"

"You would do that?" Leon questioned, a little shock creeping into his voice.

I shrugged. "I might as well. I don't mind piling in everything I make for the next few months. I won't need much anyway, just food and the essentials but the money will go towards that anyway."

"Look at you, taking one for the team," Vince joked as he poked my side.

I squirmed away a little as Letty said, "I'll help out at the garage more. I'll be graduating soon anyway and after that I can up my hours. If I need to I'll get a job outside too."

"I can get a job too," Mia spoke up. She glared right back as Dom gave her a look. "I can. I'm way ahead on my studies and I've been managing my grades for a long time. A weekend job or something wouldn't hurt, more days when I don't have school."

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Dom agreed reluctantly. "We can cut back on stuff too."

If we only fix up one of our cars at a time," Jesse spoke up. "We'll still spend the same amount once they're all done but it won't all be at once."

"There's a lot we could cut down on," Mia agreed.

"So this means that no one does anything stupid," Dom said as he pointed a finger a Leon.

"Hey, man," Leon said, holding his hands up. "All I care about is getting me a car."

We all started laughing and I went to nudge Leon with my foot when something came crashing through the window. We all moved at the noise and got away from the window. I was practically falling off of the couch now anyway so I just rolled off of it completely. I edged closer to the window a little to see a rock. No noise came after that so I got up a little to look out of the window.

I couldn't see anyone and the street looked just as quiet as usual. I was about to respond to the others who were yelling at me to get away from the window when something grazed across my arm. I gripped at it as a burning sensation started to form there.

"Cara!"

I ducked below the window as Leon scrambled towards me, keeping as low to the ground as possible. Dom was missing and Vince had moved over to Mia, Letty and Jess to make sure they were okay. When Leon got to me he put his hands on either side of my face.

"Look at me." I did as he said. "What happened?"

"I…" I looked at my arm as I moved my hand away.

"Shit." He moved to hold my arm and moved it to see where the bullet had hit.

"It's okay," I told him through gritted teeth. "It's just a graze I think."

"Then why are your teeth practically welded together?" he questioned as he carefully inspected the graze.

"I've never been shot before," I growled.

"Where's Dom?" Leon yelled as he ripped some of his t-shirt off and wrapped it around my arm.

"I don't know," Vince suddenly said.

"Son of a bitch," Leon cursed.

"Well go and find him," Mia urged.

Leon got up to look out of the window. Before he could say what he saw he was on his feet and running from the house. Vince was up next and the others followed. Letty stopped to help me up and then I was being pulled along too.

We got to the front door and Jesse was standing there with Mia, his arms around her so she couldn't get closer. Vince and Leon were in the middle of the road. I noticed Dom was on top of one of the guys. My breath caught when I realised it was Carlos. Our few days of peace definitely didn't last long. Leon and Vince were working together to take out the men who were there with Carlo. There was a car I didn't recognise parked a little away but no others. Either there were more people here and they had gotten away or this was it.

As Vince and Leon took out the last of the guys Mia screamed, "stop him!"

We all moved closer now as Vince and Leon both grabbed Dom and fought to pull him off. We got up to them just as they got Dom off of Carlos. The latter was still breathing but looked pretty beat up. That didn't stop him from laughing through the pain though.

As Dom walked away a little Vince turned around kicked Carlos hard in the stomach and when he walked away Leon took his shot, only he didn't stop. This is what Carlos deserved. Even if things had been different he wasn't exactly a good guy. He was trafficking god knows how many drugs but as I watched it felt wrong. Not only would he get what was coming to him but so would we. If we took this too far then maybe I'd lose Leon again and who knows who else too.

"Stop," I said as I moved over to Leon and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Getting into trouble for this is not worth it."

Carlos was no longer laughing but he still wore some kind of smile. When Leon backed away I turned around and kicked Carlos hard in the chest forcing him to stop smiling at least for a moment.

"Let's go," I said as I went back to Leon.

"What about them?" Dom asked, the anger still clear in his voice.

"As much as I would like to deal with them I don't want to go to prison for them," I announced as I kept walking. "And I don't want any of you to either."

"I'll get the phone," Mia said quietly as she slowly disappeared inside.

"Make sure she doesn't clean up," I said to Jesse and Letty.

They nodded and headed back inside as Leon spoke. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to call the police and report the break in," I explained. For the first time in a while I felt like I was really in charge and this time I had back-up. "We'll also tell them you're alive."

"And how much of the truth do you think is safe to share?" Vince said, clearly not sure, as he and Dom followed us.

"As much as we can," I shrugged.

As we got back inside Mia was already on the phone. No one sat down, they were all too hyped up. Mia handed me the phone and I put it to my ear just as Davis' voice came on the line.


	15. Chapter 15

**I have no idea when this is being published exactly. I'm writing this in stages whenever I have a free moment but I have a feeling it has been a while since my last update. I moved away to University on September 27th and life has changed a bit and I've been so busy. Once I have some kind of schedule and I get into the swing of things I hope to update a lot more on here but for now, enjoy the newest chapter.**

**THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST ONE**

* * *

It was the next day and things were already slightly better than before. After the phone had been handed to me I told Davis everything. I left out a few minor details for now. She said that she was putting various officers on the case and that a cop car would be round to talk to us. She was going to come in the car but I told her that I would rather have her working the case on that end than wasting her time asking us routine questions. She had been great so far and I wanted her finding Carlos which far more important. When the cops arrived they talked to us separately and together. All they wanted was for us to confirm the story I had given and then answer a few additional questions.

After that we weren't disturbed. I noticed an unmarked cop car sitting just down the street. I figured that was a precaution to make sure that Carlos didn't come back here again. This morning we took Leon to the hospital for a check-up. It had been one of the requirements. Not only could he have potential evidence on him but he could have underlying injuries. Seen as Leon and I didn't have a car Vince came with us while the others headed to the garage.

"It's going to be okay," Vince tried to reassure me as he put his arm around me.

We were sat in the waiting room while Leon was being checked over. The cops and that were there to collect any potential samples and other evidence. Even if it didn't help them find Carlos it would help to get him sent down. Vince and I were made to wait outside and I was slowly starting to wish that I hadn't agreed to that.

"I know," I agreed. "He's seemed okay but what if there is something wrong?"

"I know he acts all tough but trust me, we would know if something wasn't right."

I went to argue but the door across from us opened up. I gave a sigh of relief as Leon stepped out of the room. He had his jacket in hand as he thanked the nurse that had come with him.

Before he could move to put his jacket on I moved towards him and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up off of the ground slightly. I couldn't help how happy it made me to think that he still seemed to be okay now about being here.

"Is everything okay?" I asked as I moved away to look at him.

"Everything is more than okay." He had a grin on his face that just screamed 'full bill of health'. "I've got a few bruised ribs, a couple of them are fractured but over all I'm good. I'll be in a bit of pain for anything from a few days to a few weeks but I should be just fine."

I stepped back completely to let him put his jacket on before I hooked my arm into his. "Good, then I think this calls for a celebration."

* * *

Our little form of celebration had just been to get something to eat. We had gone to somewhere close to the hospital and just ordered as much food as possible. We stayed there for a few hours just eating and talking. I was more honest with Leon than I had ever been in my whole life. Throughout our conversations Vince acted like a perfect balance. He made jokes when things got too serious and he shut up and let it happen when things actually needed to be serious.

From those conversations I not only learned that Leon and I really were still as close as ever but also that things with Vince were real. Since being here I had grown closer to Vince. It was one of those right off the bat things. I felt safer with him and he was always there with some kind of support. Now that everything was finally coming to an end I was starting to think that maybe it were the circumstances that made it that way and now things would change. But the more Vince sat and listened to us and the more he wrapped his arm around me and smiled at me I knew that it wasn't.

After we had finally eaten too much and said all that needed to be said, we headed back to the house. The others would either be done at the garage or on their break at least. Dom wanted to go straight to full hours at the garage but we all convinced him to open up bit by bit over a week at least. His anger was less now since we spoke to Davis but Dom was still clearly upset about what had happened. I could see him fighting that urge he had when he beat up Carlos and none of us wanted that side back. To help him, and the others, forget about it a little more I made sure to cover up the graze on my arm as much as possible. There was nothing to it but whenever Dom or one of the others spotted it I could see that anger begin to rise again.

When we got back the others had closed up the garage. Everyone definitely seemed a lot more at ease. Their laughter and smiles didn't seem as forced and although there was still something in the air I could already feel a change. The news about Leon only served to brighten things a little more. It was when Dom smiled at me that I finally started to feel some sense of normality since arriving in LA.

"What?" I asked, a little unsure.

"So, we didn't all go to the garage," Dom said, that smile still in place.

I looked at Vince who shrugged. "It's the first I've heard it."

Something in his eyes told me he was lying so I just decided to play along. "So who didn't go to the garage? And what did they do?"

Suddenly Mia got up and disappeared into the kitchen. When she came back out she was carrying a couple of bags in her hands.

"We bought stuff for your room," she said happily as she held up the bags a little. "Well, actually, _I_ bought you stuff for your room."

I raised a brow at the bags. "I thought we were strapped for cash?"

"Okay, so we cheated a little," she said as she dropped the bags onto the floor.

"Letty and I got a bunch of stuff from the attic and we all added something to the pile," Jesse explained.

"Bed sheets and anything like that are all brand new," Letty continued on.

Leon was beside me then, he wrapped his arm around me. "We can buy more new stuff as time goes on. We just wanted you to have a proper room decorated a way you like."

"We even managed to get a couple tins of paint," Vince said.

"Whoa, wait," I said as I waved my hands in an attempt to slow them down. "A proper room?"

"Well, if you want to stick around," Dom shrugged.

I wasn't quite sure what to say and Mia being the God send that she is noticed. With Letty's help she got all the bags up and they dragged me upstairs before I could fully answer if I wanted to stick around. Of course I did, I just wasn't sure how long for.

When we got upstairs I considered telling them this so that they wouldn't waste money on decorating a room for me but when I saw the room I instantly chose not to. They had moved furniture out and covered what was still in the room, ready for painting. They had already put a lot of effort into it and I was going to shut my mouth and help them, whether I was staying or not.

* * *

"So you are staying, aren't you?" Mia asked.

We were done with the painting and now it was all about deciding where everything would go. We had had a bit of a break and most of the paint was dry meaning we could start putting things against parts of the walls. A lot of the character in the room came from the little bits and pieces I found in the boxes from the attic and I even took pictures out of magazine's for posters.

"For a bit." I nodded. "I'm not too sure what I'm doing."

"What Mia is trying to say is that we want you to stay," Letty spoke up. "We know you're not sure but we would love for you to stick around forever really."

"You want me to stick around permanently?" I questioned, not even bothering to hide my surprise.

"Of course we do," Mia agreed. "I know life has been a bit hectic since you got here and we haven't had that much time to really bond but honestly we like having you around."

"And not to mention Leon does too," Letty added. "I doubt he would want you to leave now."

"I guess I could consider staying a little longer than I planned," I said after a moment.

I wasn't sure whether I would or not. I would definitely come back, I wouldn't stay away for long again. I had more reasons than my brother to swing by LA now and now I understood why he never wanted to leave. Mia and Letty seemed to accept my answer because they continued on with their work and didn't bring it up again. When we did talk it was all about them filling me in more on their lives or about random subjects, me sticking around was never brought up again.

When we took our next break I stepped out of the room to find Jesse sitting on the landing. Letty and Mia went on ahead but I stayed behind to sit down beside him. We just sat there in silence for a long time. I wasn't quite sure why he was waiting outside and I didn't ask. Neither of us moved until he turned to look at me.

"Leon's one of my best friends," Jesse finally said. "But still I didn't realise that this wasn't right. You did. I want you to stick around too."

"You heard Mia bring that up?" I questioned as I glanced at the now closed bedroom door.

"Yeah, I came to see if you guys needed help and I heard you all talking," he explained, glancing down as he admitted listening in on us. "I really do hope you stay."

"Even if I leave I'll come back," I assured him. "No way I'm going this long without seeing Leon again and now I finally know why he never wants to leave here."

"We're a big family," Jesse said as he nudged my knee with his own. "It's a bit crazy at first but once you've found your place it's kind of hard to leave."

I smiled at him before resting my head on his shoulder. Coming to LA wasn't supposed to end up this way. It was just a way to get away from my old life for a bit. New York was my love. It always had been but I found a new kind of love within LA. There were plenty of reasons for me to stay and I was getting more and more as the hours moved on.


	16. Chapter 16

**THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER.**

**I am writing this straight after posting chapter 15 so so far I can't really respond to any reviews but if you do leave a review on that chapter or you have left a review in the past then I just want to say thank you for all of the support :)**

* * *

**Two Weeks Later  
**  
It was like they knew what I was going to decide when they bought stuff for my room. Even after two days it became clear that I would never find a day where I felt comfortable leaving LA so I decided to stick around. Just because I would be living here didn't mean I could travel back to my old home too. In fact, I would make a concious effort to go back to New York at least once a year if not more.

Over time Dom stopped apologising to me. They all felt guilty for having not believed me but I knew Dom felt worse because he had been the one to snap at me. He had nothing to worry about though. If I was him I wouldn't have believed me either. In the beginning I must have sounded like a crazy person. Once we were both able to get passed that something just clicked. I felt like I belonged and not because I was Leon's little sister but because I had my own place within the team.

Considering the short space of time our money issues changed a lot. We cut down on spending and anyone who could got jobs outside of the family businesses so that we could bring in some outside money. It also helped that we didn't feel like we had people breathing down our backs. Davis managed to catch up with Carlos. The forensics guy made a deal, he would still lose his job and would probably never work in any job related to that profession again but he wouldn't be punished in any other way if he gave the names of the people who had paid him off. Of course he had no issue speaking then.

I didn't believe any of it until Davis came in person and told us everything. I didn't think all of this with Carlos had affected me that much but as soon as she confirmed it it was like a weight had been lifted. It felt like I could breathe easier again. The first thing I did was hug Leon. The relief of knowing that he would be safe was too much. Ever since that day at the hospital we had been talking more and more. I still kept some things from him because there are just things that you can't tell your brother but I was definitely more honest with him now than I had ever been. Knowing that he was okay with me being here made me want to stay even more. It made such a difference from how shocked he had been when I first showed up.

With Letty, Mia and Jesse I didn't always spend that much time with them but when I did it was like we had been in each other's lives for years. Whenever I felt like I needed something or someone I could always count on at least one of them being right around the corner. All of the extra support was more than I could ask for. Back in New York I was all ready for independence, coming out here had been a pass through but now that I was here permanently I couldn't imagine my life without this many people around.

Everything in my life was coming together again. Like most Sunday's the usual barbecue was on the menu. This one was no different.

I watched as everyone got everything set up. Vince sat down on one of the chairs at the table. I went up behind him and rested my hands on his shoulders. He relaxed as I gently massaged them. One of his hands came up to squeeze one of my own as he rolled his head a little.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"I never thanked you for all the support," I told him as I continued my work. "Even when you were getting annoyed with me you were still there for me. And that day at the hospital, you were just what we needed, what _I _needed."

He gripped my hand properly and tugged me in such a way that I had to move around the chair so that I was in front of him. He let go of my hand long enough to adjust to the new position but then he was holding it again. He pulled me forward slightly and I couldn't help but smile as he made me lose my footing, giving me no choice but to stumble forward slightly. He took the opportunity and pulled me down onto his lap.

"You've already thanked me."

I grinned as his hand came up to the back of my head. He pulled me in close and the second our lips met everything in me lit up. This was one thing I still wasn't used to. Anything actually happening between Vince and I wasn't planned. I had gone to him one night with the intent of thanking him like I had just done but instead he told me how happy he was that I was sticking around. I had never seen him be so honest and before I knew what I was doing I was kissing him.

I smiled into the kiss as he wrapped his other arm around me, holding me in place. Before the kiss could get too intense he pulled away suddenly. I laughed as I spotted a large ball of rolled up napkins on the floor.

"I already warned you," Leon yelled over. I knew then that it was him who had thrown the ball at Vince. "None of that shit with my sister in front of me."

I rested my forehead against the crook of Vince's neck as I laughed. "You'd better answer him."

He kissed my shoulder. "I can't help it if she can't keep her hands off of me."

"Yeah keep that up," I heard Leon warn. "In a few weeks when I'm healed up properly you won't think you're so smart."

I kissed the side of Vince's neck before I moved my head away and rolled off of him. "Okay, settle down," I said as I looked between the two of them. "We all know that I have you both wrapped around my little finger... Leon, you're not going to do anything about Vince and Vince is going to stop getting on your nerves over me."

Letty went up to Leon and threw her arm around his shoulder as she pointed at me with her free hand. "I like her. She knows what she's doing."

I chuckled as I walked towards where Letty stood. She turned away from Leon to grab two drinks. As I reached her she handed me one. I turned around to see Vince shaking his head at me. Leon was also smiling now.

"Cara?" Leon called as I turned away.

I looked at him over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Need help moving the rest of your stuff in?"

I had gotten rid of most of my stuff in New York but when Aunt Patty moved to Florida she took almost everything with her including some old things belonging to me. A lot of it I had expected to be from when I was kid but there was quite a few things from recent years like pictures and little bits I used to keep on my shelves. I had taken a day or so over to Florida with Leon a couple of days ago to pick up some boxes that were now in the living room waiting to be taken upstairs and everything to be set up.

Long gone the day where Leon had looked worriedly at my hands to see if I brought my bags with me.


End file.
